Chapter 466 Real Estate "Chapter Warmth" and Reminders
Chapter 466 Real Estate "Recovery" and Reminders
After visiting a Carrefour supermarket and a cinema of Changxing Film Company in Taiwan, Yang Wendong returned to Hong Kong.
Nowadays, Taiwan still has great restrictions on foreign investment in the service industry. Therefore, even if Changxing Group finds a way to circumvent it, it will not be able to achieve a large scale in the short term. At present, it can only be said to be a trial investment, understanding the market, and training employees. When the market opens in the future, it will further increase investment.
February soon came, and the real estate market in Hong Kong actually showed a gradual upward trend. House prices gradually stopped falling, and many real estate developers began to try to get projects.
Zheng Zhijie also quickly reported the situation to Yang Wendong and asked, "Mr. Yang, do you think this is a sign of real estate recovery?"
"If we look at the data, it is possible." Yang Wendong flipped through the documents in front of him and said with a smile: "Last year, housing prices fell by more than half, and in some places they even fell by nearly 2/3. The bubble at its peak is almost over.
Apart from real estate, the rest of Hong Kong's economy is developing very well, especially industry and trade, which have grown by more than 15% year-on-year. In addition, the population has also increased significantly, which are all very good data for real estate."
Small real estate companies look at the commercial value of a region, while large real estate companies look at the overall economic data and future development trends of a country or a city.
Hong Kong's real estate is deeply tied to the economy, which is the foundation for the rise in real estate prices. Many large real estate developers predict a real estate crisis or recovery by looking at these data: population, average economy, industrial or service output, average wages, bank interest rates, etc.
After listening to this, Zheng Zhijie was overjoyed and asked, "Then Mr. Yang, can we participate in real estate development again?"
Although Changxing Real Estate is not small in scale, it did not operate much last year and suffered heavy losses. Of course, this loss is compared with its other subsidiaries. Compared with other real estate companies, Changxing Real Estate is already very good.
Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Not yet. I need to wait and see for a while. You should just stay put and do the two projects in Singapore. Don't worry about the rest."
In fact, if we don’t know the future, the current data would really be suitable for returning to the real estate industry. Historically, the Hong Kong real estate industry began to recover in early 66, and until the middle of 66, it had an average increase of about 10%. Everything is a manifestation of economic recovery, and everyone is full of confidence in the future.
It’s just that some things simply cannot be predicted in an economic way. The most serious impact on real estate is always ZZ or related threats. Once this happens, housing prices will plummet.
Therefore, he naturally would not let Changxing Real Estate Company get involved at this point in time, preferring to leave both manpower and funds idle.
"Okay." Zheng Zhijie agreed.
In Changxing Group, Yang Wendong's words are like an imperial decree. Even if his subordinates have some doubts, they will generally do as he is told. Not only because he is the boss, but also because many previous results have shown that Yang Wendong is correct.
Yang Wendong asked again: "Is the construction in Singapore going smoothly?"
"Everything went well." Zheng Zhijie replied.
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, that's it. The real estate company will remain the same as last year. I will notify you when the time is right."
"Okay, Mr. Yang," Zheng Zhijie agreed.
Yang Wendong added: "Also, you should observe Henderson Land Development and Li Jiacheng's Cheung Kong Holdings in the past six months to see if they have any plans to enter the market."
Although these people successfully became one of the four major families in the 80s, they should be strong and weak in terms of ability. The period before and after the real estate crisis is the most challenging. Yang Wendong also wants to know how they have operated in the past few years. How to successfully avoid huge risks and take the opportunity to hoard land on a large scale.
Whether it depends on strength or luck will determine who Yang Wendong will support more in the future. After all, his own resources are limited, and it is impossible for him to support so many top families in the future at the same time. Even HSBC can only support one or two people at the same time.
"I understand." Zheng Zhijie replied.
After Zheng Zhijie left, Yang Wendong took another look at the various buildings outside, thought carefully, and then rang the bell to call his assistant Aying: "Aying, make an appointment with Ho Sin-hang of Hang Seng Bank and tell him that I'm treating him to a meal recently."
Ah Ying agreed and said, "Okay, I'll let you know when the time is confirmed."
Two days later, in a private room in the Four Seasons Hotel, several exquisitely presented Huaiyang dishes were served one by one.
"Mr. He, please, this Huaiyang cuisine is the most suitable for entertaining guests." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
Among the many cuisines in the mainland, Huaiyang cuisine is the most suitable for state banquets, because it does not require spitting out bones, which is its biggest advantage. In fact, in terms of taste, all cuisines are not bad.
He Shanheng smiled and said, "Okay, thank you Yang Sheng."
"You're welcome." Yang Wendong also started to pick up his chopsticks. After the two exchanged pleasantries, Yang Wendong asked, "Mr. Ho, how has Hang Seng's operation been in the past year?" "It's developing well at the moment." Ho Sin Hang replied, "But I also followed Mr. Yang's advice and gradually gave up further expansion in Hong Kong, and instead focused on Singapore and some Southeast Asian countries."
"This is a good idea. There is a limit to further development in Hong Kong." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "There is also HSBC, a semi-central bank in the mainland. There is no need to compete too much with them."
The Hong Kong market is indeed very strong, but this is still the British Hong Kong era. HSBC controls special rights such as printing money and foreign exchange. At the same time, it is a commercial bank and has a good relationship with the Hong Kong government. Competing with such a company is completely not worth the loss. Even if you can compete fiercely with HSBC with your incredible ability, they will not play by the rules of business or politics with you, so you will be finished anyway.
Rather than asking for trouble, it is better to find a way to go beyond Hong Kong. There will be a vast market there. Even if there is competition from outside, as long as you don’t become very big in one place, other local banking giants generally won’t care.
"Yes, I used to think about surpassing HSBC. I really had no political thinking and almost caused Hang Seng to go bankrupt," said Ho Sin Hang with emotion.
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "It's not too late to understand now. We just need to focus on overseas markets in the future. In fact, even HSBC will probably try to enter overseas markets in the future, especially now that communication technology is getting more and more powerful. The communication problems of previous branches are now becoming more and more perfect."
Many bank frauds are actually committed by taking advantage of the loophole that data is not shared between different branches; after the advent of the Internet, these frauds have basically become less common.
"I hope so. However, it is difficult to do business overseas." Ho Sin Heng said, "We have to start all over again. Even in the Chinese area, there are OCBC Bank and other banks locally. It is very difficult for us to attract deposits."
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I can't do anything about that. But if my business covers Hang Seng's branches in the future, we can cooperate a little. But other than Singapore, I probably won't make large-scale investments in other places."
Singapore is a gathering place for Chinese people and was famous in the past life. I have some understanding of it, so I dare to invest heavily. Forget about other Southeast Asian countries. At most, I can build some supermarkets, cinemas, etc., or a few properties, etc.
"That's enough." He Shanheng nodded and asked, "Mr. Yang, why did you ask me out?"
Yang Wendong said: "Mr. He, the real estate market in Hong Kong has been recovering recently. You should know that, right?"
"Yes, I know." He Shanheng said, "Several real estate companies have already started internal discussions with us, hoping that we will lend them money. Does Mr. Yang also want to raise funds from me? But you are the major shareholder, and the law does not allow it."
Ever since the incident at Liu Chong Hing Bank, the Hong Kong government has banned banks from lending to their directors and major shareholders. Although the Hong Kong government has not paid much attention to such matters after two years, the laws and regulations are still there. Violating the law is violating the law. If the Hong Kong government really pursues it, both the bank and the shareholder company will be in trouble.
Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "No, I want to tell you that I will remain cautious about the real estate market for the time being. I respect your choice, but I also hope that you will be more cautious."
Although he is a major shareholder of Hang Seng Bank, Yang Wendong basically does not interfere with Ho Sin Hang's management, which is the bank's strong point. In addition, he often needs to cooperate with HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citigroup and even Bank of East Asia to make the best use of their funds to develop himself. However, if he is too involved in Hang Seng's affairs, it will inevitably cause other banks to have ideas.
However, it does not matter to give a reminder, and it is necessary. Historically, Hang Seng belonged to HSBC at this time. Yang Wendong does not know how it got through 66 and 67. Now Hang Seng is still a Chinese bank, and Ho Sin Hang still has the final say. He cannot guarantee that Ho Sin Hang will not make mistakes.
If it was other investments, even if the real estate company of Li Ka-shing and Li Shau-kee had problems and went bankrupt in 67, Yang Wendong would definitely not care. But Hang Seng is a bank. If it really lends too much now and there are problems in 67 and then there is a run on the bank, Yang Wendong would be in a very embarrassing position. Should he save it or not?
So it’s better to remind you now to avoid having to clean up the mess later, although the possibility is not high.
After listening to this, He Shanheng was surprised and said, "Mr. Yang is still not optimistic about the real estate market? Could it be that this is just a rebound from a period of decline?"
"Maybe." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I don't have any evidence, but I just feel that the real estate market has not fully recovered yet."
This kind of thing is all based on guesswork and cannot be confirmed by data. Buffett and Soros don't have that ability. They just rely on experience and have succeeded many times, but they have also failed.
"So Mr. Yang means that he doesn't want me to continue borrowing in the real estate market?" He Shanheng asked.
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, try not to participate in the residential or for-sale market, focus on industry, or you can lend to companies that invest in self-owned office buildings, but don't invest too much."
When the real estate crisis hit in 67, his first target was large office buildings, whether in Central or elsewhere. Moreover, in this era, any high-rise office building worth building was in a good location.
If Hang Seng Bank can cooperate with me in lending to some of these enterprises, then if the other party operates poorly and is forced to sell properties, after I take over, I can also guarantee Hang Seng's risks to a certain extent. But it still can't be too much, because in 67, housing prices were cut at the knees or even ankles. Even if the properties were auctioned off, the bank may not be able to recover all the accounts.
He Shanheng nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back and think about it. Since Mr. Yang is not optimistic about the real estate market, I will definitely be more cautious."
Not to mention that the other party is a shareholder of Hang Seng, even with Yang Wendong's current achievements in Hong Kong, no one dares to ignore his opinions.
Yang Wendong said, "Okay, I hope to get Mr. He's decision at the next board meeting."
PS: Ask for monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)